A Fisherman And A King
by queen-of-the-arts
Summary: One day a maid in Castle Elnath discovers a box of old letter that were written to a certain King Ladekahn from a fisherman by the name of Gibari immediately after he left the knights. This is what she found. Beware of spoilers related to BK:Origins!
1. Chapter 1: The Discovery

"Celia, go and clean out the royal bedroom. We need to remove his majesty's belongings so young King Silenus can make use of it," the head servant told me. You see, King Silenus' father had just passed away the week before and now that he was crowned king he would be taking over the palace. He was to have his father's old chambers and, as the maid, it fell to me to get them ready for him.

I remember thinking what a dreadful chore it was going to be as I climbed the stairs that lead to the king's quarters. The young king's father had been something of a pack rat, never throwing anything away so I knew there would be much work to do. This was going to be such a dull task! I wished that they would have assigned this job to someone else. Little did I know that I would discover something that would make this day one that I would never forget!

When I reached the royal bed chamber I was appalled! I had never seen such a mess! There were clothes everywhere; his majesty had been something of a clothes horse as well. There were knick-knacks and do-dads on every shelf and even cluttering up the king's desk. The floor hadn't been swept in goodness knows how long and the list went on and on.

I rolled up my sleeves and started in. I must have cleaned for hours before I could even see the floor to begin sweeping. After I had finished sweeping the floor still looked awful so I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to scrub it as well.

I can remember grumbling all the way back down to the kitchen and all the way back up again with the bucket and brush. I sloshed some water on the floor and began to swish it around with the brush before getting down on my hands and knees and scrubbing. After scrubbing for what must have been a quarter of an hour I felt something move beneath my hands. I thought that it seemed a bit strange so I scrubbed over it another time and once again it shifted beneath my touch. A stone was loose.

There was nothing so odd about that. Stones came loose in the floors all the time and had to be replaced. What was strange was the way this one didn't look as if it had been worn away or as if it had just broke loose on its own. If it had it would have been jagged on the edges where the mortar held it together with the others, but this one looked as if it had been deliberately cut out.

Curiosity has always been one of my biggest faults and naturally I couldn't resist removing the stone to have a closer look. What I discovered was that it had indeed been deliberately cut so that it could be removed. Why would anyone want to remove a stone in the floor?

It was then that I spotted it in the hole where the stone had been… a small wooden box. It was nothing fancy, just a plain box about the size of something one might keep jewelry in. It was coated in a thick layer of dust which I naturally proceeded to wipe away. As I did I could see that there was something carved on the lid. "Carved" might not be quite the right word. It was more like it had been etched by the hand of a child. It wasn't very deep and the light in the room was rather poor but after looking at it for a few moments I realized that it was an "L."

Well as you can well imagine I couldn't resist the urge to open it and see what could possibly have been hidden under the floor of this room for so long. I had expected it to be something of immense value if the person had taken such pains to hide it. Perhaps it was a large jewel or an ornate piece of jewelry. It could have been virtually anything but I never expected what I found.

The box was full to the top… with yellowed crinkled papers! I thought perhaps the article of importance was beneath all the papers but as I removed them one by one I could see that there was nothing in the box at all except for these old sheets of paper. How dull!

Then I noticed the writing on them. Well it couldn't hurt to see what they said. So I started reading. They were nearly all penned in an awkward, almost childish hand and they were all addressed to a certain King Ladekahn. So this King Ladekahn saved all of his personal correspondence? Whatever for? Well they must have been important to him for some reason, perhaps since they were almost all from the same person, it must have been someone he cared deeply for!

I suddenly remembered that I'd heard of this King Ladekahn. You don't work in the Castle Elnath for long without hearing about the White Flame of Diadem at least once. He was one of the most famous kings ever to come from Diadem! He was said to be a wise and kindly ruler who always thought of his people first and foremost. This naturally enhanced my already heightened curiosity, so as I sat there in the middle of the king's bed chambers with a bucket of soapy water by my side, I started to read and this is what I read…


	2. Chapter 2: The First Letter

Kahn,

Arrived in Nashira a couple of days ago. The place is crawling with Imperial soldiers! You can't go anywhere without getting stopped and questioned. Yesterday I was on my way to the market to pick up a loaf of bread and this arrogant so-and-so stops me and gives me the third degree! Where am I going? Where do I live? Who are my folks? What am I doing out alone?

You know what I think? I think they're just scared of a rebellion. They know they can't keep these stubborn fishermen under their thumbs for long. It won't be long before people start fighting back, you'll see!

On a different note, it's been good to see Anna and Reblys and a couple of other old friends again. They've all been real sympathetic about what happened to Pop. There was a real nice memorial ceremony for him last night. We all lit candles and floated them down the Lower Celestial River. Someone said they're supposed to light the way for Pop's spirit. I'm not sure I buy that. Somehow I think Pop'll get wherever he's going even if we don't help but it was nice all the same. Oh Kahn, I miss him so much! Everything feels wrong all on my own!

I miss you too! I just feel so lost and alone out here. Why? Why did you send me away? What did I do wrong? Are you still mad that I lost your Mother's mirror? I said I was sorry! I just don't understand! What about sticking together? What about being best friends forever?

I'm sorry. I'm sure you have your reasons. I just miss you, that's all.

I guess I'd better be going. Promised Anna that I'd help out with some chores at the tavern. She and the others are running me ragged! I think they're trying to help me forget about Pop. It's real nice of them but it's not working. Well, it's the thought that counts, right? Well, like I said, I've got to go. I know you're busy and all but don't forget to stay in touch! Stay out of trouble pal!

Your best friend forever,

Gib


End file.
